At present time cars play such an important role in everybody’s lives. The car that individual manages to speak about the individual without even saying a word. Then what is a car? How did it come into existence? What role did Mercedes –Benz have during this entire journey? All the answers to these questions are there in this article. The definition of a car is very simple. A car or an automobile is a motor vehicle that is used for transportation. Though the definitions of cars are so simple the working of and the machines used in it is not so simple without having prior information about it. The present parent owner of Mercedes Benz is Daimler AG. Before we understand the present timeline of this company let us look at some of the unique histories that this organization has attained. So, here, we’ll know Who owns Mercedes?
There is always the saying that if one wants something that they have never had; then one has to do something that they have never done.
Evolution of Cars
Over the years cars have gotten better not just with their mechanism but also in many other things. Some of the notable things being:
- The cars only came to public use in the 20th century and the developing economy was dependent on them.
- The year 1886 is regarded as the birth year of the modern car when German inventor Karl Benz patented his Benz patent motor wagon.
- The word motor car started coming to use only in the later year of 1895 and is the part of formal British English language.
- The English word car came into existence from different languages starting from Latin to Old French and finally to Gaulish which all had a similar meaning of wheeled vehicle
- The car was also known as the horseless carriage during the same time.
- The word automobile came into light in the year 1897 which was derived from ancient Greek and Latin and then from the French to English was adopted by the automobile club of Great Britain.
- Though the word fell from Britain it is still chiefly used by Germans, Dutch, and the people of North America.
- Cars have been proven beneficial not just to individuals who buy them but also to countries in the world by opening new jobs for people, helping the country financially especially for development Over the years cars have not just gotten better with their features but also in the way they run.
- As the consumption of cars got higher among people all around the world, the concern for the environment and the increase of global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels came into the picture. It was after this crisis that natural gas, electric, hydrogen, solar, and even vegetable oil-powered cars were invented in and around the world and each one makes better than the other countries.
History of Mercedes Benz
This organization has a very long history. This car company has grown and made many changes over the years. Some of the most important and recognizing changes have been discussed.
Believe it or not, Mercedes Benz was founded 95 years ago on June 28th, 1926. The history and the introduction of the company date back to Daimler – Motoren – Gesellschaft’s 1901 Mercedes and Karl Benz’s 1886 Benz Patent Motor wagon which is far and wide regarded as the original internal combustion engine being introduced into a self-propelled automobile. These automobiles did not use gasoline for working but used a petroleum spirit called ligroin. The history of this company dates back to Karl Benz inventing his motor wagon by seeking help from his wife Bertha Benz who herself is a German automotive pioneer and inventor. She was also a business partner of this motor wagon and has made a great contribution throughout her life and during the same year, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach converted a stagecoach by adding a petrol engine.
The predecessors of Mercedes Benz dated way back with Benz and Cie from 1883 to 1926 and then Daimler from 1890 to 1926 and finally Mercedes (Marque) from 1901 to 1926. The automobile was first marketed in 1901 by DMG. They started selling automobiles not just to the rich class of the French and Europe but also went one step further and started selling them to the United States of America’s famous millionaires. In 1901 the Mercedes was registered by DMG worldwide as a protected trademark. The production of the vehicles only started in 1926 after both Karl’s and Gottlieb Daimler’s companies merged and came to be known as Daimler – Benz Company on June 28th. Hence they both are considered as the founders of Mercedes Benz. Throughout the 1930s this company made around 770 model cars which became so popular during the Nazi period of Germany that the greatest dictator of Germany rode in this car with bulletproof glasses. During the same time, Mercedes Benz sourced the popemobile as well.
Mercedes- Benz is an automobile organization but still managed to play a very important role during world wars that took place for years. Some of the interesting facts regarding this are:
- During the World Wars, the Mercedes Benz stopped making cars and started making products that were necessary to the military.
- They completely devoted themselves to the war effort so much so that they built a hidden factory in the year 1945
- It needs to be brought to light that most of the workers of those factories were forced laborers, prisoners of war, and concentration camp detainees. Another thing that also needs to be kept in mind is that they paid the families of these people later. Though this cannot be an alternative to those lives it is always hoped that this money might make their lives in some way easier.
Present Timeline of Mercedes Benz
The headquarters of Mercedes Benz is in Stuttgart Germany. The parent or owner of Mercedes Benz is Daimler AG which was previously named as Daimler- Benz, and Daimler- Chrysler. It is a German multinational automotive corporation. It came to light in 2021 that Daimler AG is the second-largest German automaker and the sixth-largest worldwide by production. Daimler holds several shares with Mercedes – Benz, and Mercedes – AMG.
Over the years Mercedes Benz has not limited themselves to just cars but also gone one step ahead by making trucks, vans, and even buses that are widely used for transportation all around the world. They have also stepped up their game by making electric cars in recent years. They have also widened their market into Formula 1 and Formula E. The luxury Maybach was terminated in the year 2012 but was revived in the year 2015 and was known as Mercedes- Maybach with the versions of S class and GLS class. Daimler sold around 3.3 million vehicles in the year 2019.
It was brought into light through various reports that Daimler is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and the largest truck manufacturer in the world. In the headquarters of the Daimler AG complex, there are the Mercedes – Benz and Daimler car plants, the Mercedes- Benz Museum, and the Mercedes- Benz Arena. This company was formerly known as Daimler – Benz from 1926 to 1998 and later was known as Daimler and Chrysler from the year 1998 to 2007. It was later this year that the Daimler AG foundation was started and hence the name.
The origin of this company was due to a mutual agreement of interest by Benz and Cie which was owned by Karl Benz and Daimler – Motoren – Gesellschaft which came into existence due to Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Both of these companies decided to work and manufacture automobiles and internal combustion separately till 1926 June 28th after which they formally joined hands together to be known as Daimler – Benz AG and after which they decided that all their automobiles and factories would use the brand name as Mercedes – Benz. The Daimler Chrysler was the largest cross-border deal made between a German and an American company of a whopping cost of $38 billion in the year 1988.
In the year 2018 during September, Daimler AG invested a whopping $155million in an American company based on battery management and technology of electric buses. In 2019 Daimler AG decided to stop developing internal combustion engines so that they could start their journey into electric vehicles. In the following year, they partnered with Opus 12 to create the world’s first C- pillar made from polycarbonate to make a full carbon-neutral fleet. This year in February Daimler AG had made plans to rename themselves with their older name Mercedes – Benz and make their Daimler Truck into a separately listed company.
Mercedes Benz and Their Unique Naming System
Until the year 1994 Mercedes Benz incredibly used the alphanumeric system for dividing and segregating their vehicles which consisted of an approximate number sequence that was equal to their engine’s displacement in liters which was followed by an alphabetical suffix which matched the description of the body style and engine style. In 1966 they revised the naming system according to classes. More details about this are available on their official website and it contains various articles about the history of this company and how they have grown and evolved over these decades. All enthusiasts and excited readers out there about automobiles should check it once as it provides not just knowledge and information through words but also through pictures and videos which are worth a shot seeing.
Apps and Mercedes-Benz
Daimler AG announced a partnership with a company named VIA which is a ride-sharing app that had been launched to expand their business around Europe. They also later invested and funded an app called Turo which allows people to rent their cars out to others. These apps were later started in Germany as well which Daimler AG bought and invested in.
To Conclude
Mercedes – Benz is one of the best automobile manufacturers and as their saying goes “more than and a badge” and “the best or nothing” keeps them moving forward not just as luxury cars but also as commercial cars.
